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Returning to Breastfeeding

Hello! I am breastfeeding my baby before but I stopped for almost 2 weeks now due to certain Gastric Problems and my physician prescribed medications for 2 weeks. As I am about to finish all my medications for 2 weeks, could I still breastfeed my baby again? Thanks

I would definitely offer the breast again because you should still be producing some milk, though it won't be as much as you were producing before. Your daughter will either take to it or she won't. If she prefers the bottle nipple you may have a hard time getting her to latch on.

But if she will latch, then breastfeed her as long as you possibly can each day, because her suckling is what will help to increase your milk supply again.

Have you been "pumping and dumping" while she has been off the breast? That's what I did anytime I had to have baby off the breast for a period of time.

You can also rent a good, hospital grade pump, that you can use to help stimulate milk production. You would need to pump every 2 hours, for about 20 minutes, and at times you'll feel like you do nothing else, but if you really want to continue your breastfeeding relationship it is so worth it.

Here's a thread where we discussed relactation. You may also need to use a supplemental nursing system where you can put baby's formula in a bottle and then it is delivered through a tube, into the baby's mouth, so they can get their nourishment while at the breast.

Here's a video where Dr. Jack Newman shows how to get baby to latch at the breast with a supplemental nursing system.

Please let me know if this answers your questions or if you have any other questions.

The first thing you'll want to do to help increase milk production will be to drink plenty of water. Have glasses of water around the house so that every time you see it you are reminded to drink. You can even set a timer to drink every 30 minutes. This is especially helpful in being sure you're getting enough for baby. Just drink until you're satisfied, but be sure to drink.

Be sure you're getting plenty of fruits and vegetables. I would suggest you strive for at least 50% of your daily intake in fruits and vegetables, but eating 80% would be even better. Choose organic varieties so that you're not putting pesticides into your body and into your baby's body through your milk.

Watermellon has a lot of water in it and it's cleansing to the body. Deep leafy greens are packed with nutrients that will benefit your milk supply and your energy level.

One of the best things you can do is to get a juicer and juice your fruits and vegetables. If you get at least 3 heads of dark leafy greens into your body each day you will notice an amazing difference in your overall health and wellness after a week of doing this. It's much easier to drink the greens (minus the fiber) than it is to eat 3 heads of deep leafy greens (with the fiber).

One of my favorite juices is apple, cucumber, lemon and kale. You use 1/2 lemon (or less) and a lot of apples, cucumber and kale. The sweetness of the apples counteracts the "green" taste of the kale. I'll actually be drinking this juice today.

Freshly squeezed orange juice or grapefruit juice is very good too. Just use a citrus juicer, or if you want to use your juicer that you would use for apples, you'll want to be sure you peel the orange first because when you put the peel of the orange through the juicer along with the fruit, it will make your juice really thick from all the pectin in the orange rind. It still tastes okay - it just changes the texture which makes it harder to drink (becomes kind of "gloppy").

A couple of herbs that helps to increase milk supply are fenugreek and blessed thistle. You may also be able to find a "Mother's Milk" tea.